CxP Law #1: Every Interaction Creates A Personal Reaction

This is the most fundamental customer experience (CxP) law of them all. Simply put, experiences are totally in the eyes of the beholder. The same exact experience can be good for one person and bad for another. As a matter of fact, it can be good for someone at one point in time and then bad for that same person at another point in time. That’s why we often say “experiences designed for everyone satisfy noone.”

Here are some implications of this law:

Experiences need to be designed for individuals. While it may not be possible to individualize every interaction, focusing on narrow segments (like Personas) is critical.

Customer segments must be prioritized. Since you need to design for specific types of people, experiences will be optimized for a set of customers. That will require companies to have a very clear picture of their important (and not so important) customers.

Employees need to be empowered. Since every situation can be somewhat different, the needs of customers can vary across interactions. That’s why front-line employees need to have the latitude to accommodate the needs of key customers.

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I am a customer experience transformist, helping large organizations improve business results by changing how they deal with customers. As part of this focus, I examine strategy, culture, interaction design, customer service, branding and leadership practices. I am also a fanatical student of business, so this blog provides an outlet for sharing insights from my ongoing educational journey.
Simply put, I am passionate about spotting emerging best practices and helping companies master them. And, as many people know, I love to speak about these topics in almost any forum.
My “title” is Managing Partner of the Temkin Group, a customer experience research and consulting firm that helps organizations become more customer-centric. Our goal is simple: accelerate the path to delighting customers.
I am also the co-founder and Emeritus Chair of the Customer Experience Professionals Association (CXPA.org), a non-profit organization dedicated to the success of CX professionals.

5 thoughts on “CxP Law #1: Every Interaction Creates A Personal Reaction”

Hi Bruce !
Your take on the 6 laws is so very true. These are exactly the challenges that we face on a daily basis and try to educate our service staff on. Look forward to seeing the rest of the 6 law series…
Thanks

Well put Bruce! I have been anxiously waiting for further distillation of the 6 laws of CxP. Experience does matter! I find your last point particularly compelling. Employees do need to be encouraged (even incented) to understand the customer and then empowered to act. Looking forward to your thoughts on points 2-6.